Process

I’ve created a manual for the encaustigraphic process that I share with classes. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

Welcome to the world of encaustigraphics— an art material that looks like stained glass, but lightweight and easy to make. Using a few simple materials, you can turn any image—photographs, drawings,, paintings, collages, Zentangles, and more—into a luminous, colorful material that can be easily formed into flat or structural shapes and used in a wide variety of applications.

I developed the e*graphic process as I was searching for an art material to let me re-use my own full color drawings and photographs in new ways. I didn’t want to purchase specialized equipment (I already have enough art tools!), and I wanted the process to be reliable, but most importantly I wanted a material that showed the full beauty of colors as stained glass does.

While I’d tried a wide variety of translucent techniques and transfer methods, nothing was really satisfying until I came up with the idea of encaustigraphics. With e*graphics, I knew that I’d found something that was not only easy to make with consistent results, but that also could adapt itself to a wide variety of artistic ideas— sculpture, books, window art, jewelry, suspensions, mobiles, and more.

Posts showing how e*graphics can be used in a variety of ways are found under the category “Forms” in the sidebar. Posts with the category of “Process” will feature class photos and tips for the creation of the material itself.